Singapore Arts Festival 2012: Lear Dreaming and Vertical Road

Well, the Singapore Arts Festival will take a hiatus for a year.  So this year's Festival would be the last of the old format.  I am taking this opportunity to remember my last 2 performances for this edition.

Lear Dreaming by TheatreWorks (Singapore).  My favourite of the 3 productions seen this year.   I prefer this strip down version of the 1997 production, although I don't think it managed to "entering one man's mind".  The lone actor was supported by the wonderful traditional Korean court music vocalist Kang Kwon Soon, Minang music specialist Piterman, Gamelan music composer Rahayu Supanggah and his ensemble (their piece on stage was great), and pipa player Wu Man (what's that with the costume?).

Interesting work from TheatreWorks.

Akran Khan Company, a frequent visitor to Singapore, performed Vertical Road on the last 2 nights of the Festival.  

This piece, as the programme note says, "a meditation on the journey from gravity to grace".   The show started powerfully and with intensity.  It however lost steam during the second half.

Nonetheless, it was a good attempt by the company.












We won't have a Festival next year, but maybe it is a good thing......